NEWS OF THE DAY
_1 Syria fighting: The Foreign Ministry on Monday called the evacuation of members of the White Helmets to Jordan a “criminal process” that revealed the role of Israel, the United States and other Western allies in propping up what the government considers a “terrorist group.” In a statement, a foreign ministry official called the evacuation a “smuggling operation” that also reveals Israel’s involvement in the Syrian war despite its claims to the contrary. The unnamed official said the cooperation of the U.S., Britain, Jordan, Germany and Canada also implicates them in supporting the group. The evacuation over the weekend was an unprecedented operation coordinated among those countries to extract over 400 members of the search and rescue group from along the volatile frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, where they were besieged by Syrian troops.
_2 Mexico violence: Homicides in Mexico have risen 16 percent in the first half of 2018, as the country again breaks its records for violence. The Interior Department said there were 15,973 homicides in the first six months of the year, compared to 13,751 killings in the same period of 2017. The number is the highest since comparable records began being kept in 1997. At current levels, the department’s measure would put yearly national homicides at 22 per 100,000 population. By comparison, New York City last year had a homicide rate of 4 per 100,000.
_3 Afghanistan attack: Gunmen opened fire on worshipers inside a mosque in eastern Nangarhar province, killing four people, according to a provincial official. Attahullah Khogyani, the provincial governor’s spokesman, said three other people, including the mosque’s religious leader, were wounded in the attack, which took place on Sunday evening in the district of Surkh Rod. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and Islamic State militants are active in eastern Afghanistan, especially in Nangarhar province. Earlier on Sunday, an Islamic State suicide bomber struck near Kabul’s airport, killing 20 people.
_4 Vietnam storm: Flooding caused by a tropical storm has killed at least 20 people and left more than a dozen missing in northern Vietnam, local media reports said. Ten people drowned in Yen Bai province after Tropical Storm Son Tinh hit last week. In Thanh Hoa province, a flash flood swept through a small village in Lang Chanh district and carried away a dozen stilt houses. “The floods came so quick and gave us so little time to escape,” said resident Luong Van Hung. “Some managed to run to high ground, but others got swept away in the floods.” The rain stopped over the weekend, but forecasters say another tropical depression is heading toward northern Vietnam this week.
_5 Colombia shipwreck: The excavation of a Spanish ship that sank off the coast of Colombia with a trove of silver and gold now worth billions will have to wait a bit longer. President Juan Manuel Santos announced Monday he is suspending efforts to create a special partnership with a private entity to retrieve the shipwreck. Santos said he has decided to hand off the project to President-elect Ivan Duque’s administration amid pending court decisions and public concern over the ship’s future. The San Jose galleon sank in a battle with British ships more than 300 years ago. It was located in 2015 but has been mired in legal and diplomatic disputes. The ship went down with a fortune in gold, silver and emeralds and is often called the “holy grail of shipwrecks.”
Chronicle News Services